Fort Clinton was the main defensive garrison of the Revolutionary War

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 defense network at West Point. Commanded by and named after Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

 before his betrayal of the Revolutionary Army and defection to the British, it was later renamed after General James Clinton

James Clinton

James Clinton was an American Revolutionary War soldier who obtained the rank of major general.He was born in Ulster County in the colony of New York, in a location now part of Orange County, New York...

. Construction was begun under Captain Louis de la Radiere, and completed under the command of Tadeusz Kosciuszko

Tadeusz Kosciuszko

Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish–Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus...

 between 1778–1780; it was the key defensive fort, overlooking the turn in the Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

 and the Great Chain

Hudson River Chain

The Hudson River Chain may refer to any of several chains used as a blockade across the Hudson River intended to prevent British naval vessels from proceeding up the river during the American Revolutionary War.-The Great Chain :...

. After the war, the remains of Fort Clinton fell into disrepair and were eventually demolished to make way for the expansion of the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

, founded at the garrison in 1802. Today, all that remains of the fort are some earthworks and stone base structure, easily seen off of Thayer Road as its rounds the Plain and the soccer fields at West Point.